Mechanism for packaging cigarettes and similar articles



May 26, 1925.

. 1,539,745 E. G. KERLIN ET AL MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING CI GARETTES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Jun 7 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 j i gNVEIYTORS. V, a

M A TTO NEY May 26, 1925. 1,539,745

7 E. G. KERLIN ET AL MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed June '7, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 15 6' C v 10 C ZJNVENTOQS 3 MM M ATTO 'EY May 26, 1925.

E. G. KERLIN ET AL MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed June '7, 1922 IYVENTORS.

BYWW

ATTORNEY May 26, 1925.

E. G. KERLIN ET AL MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed June '7, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet. 4

a? I c j gJNl ENTORS 2, W WM 1:? m ATTORN Y Q W MN v WN1 INN FE j @N AM w l flu mw m May 26, 1925.

Ev G. KERLIN ET AL MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed June '7, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 [W zyroRs.

ATTORfiEY QN INN as, i 1,539,745

om t-an STATES PATENT caries.

noennn e. Kenn-mam) WILLIAM BRANDT, creation, vIeGIn'IA, essrenons ro corms mar-inner MAGHENE centrality, or eaten, VIRGINIA, A OORPOBATIQN or VIRGINIA.

lflEGEIANISla-i PACKAGING CIGAR-ETTESAND SIMILAR ARTICLES.

Application filed June 7, 1322. Serial No. 566,457.

To (HZ LII/!}? v'nay concern: rettes have been 'torcedlinto more compact lie it known that we, EUGENE G. KnnLiN form;

and "i't iilmiirir A. BRANDT, citizens of the F 6 is aview just priortothe removal United States, residing at Salem, in the o'f't-he fingersand their, replacementwith county 0" Roanoke and State of Virginia, the former-head;

have invented certain new and useful ln'i- 7 shows thelcigarettes atter. a] full provenients in Mechanism tor Packaging C()11't1)l6111911t3 of twenty has h eenforced in Cigarettes ano Snnilar Articles, of which through the open-sidedplunger; ,60

he following is a specification. 'vFigi. 8 is an enlarged transverse section This invention relates to an lll'iPl'OVelllell on the line 88 of 6; in mechanism for packagnig cigarettes and Fig. 9 1s an enlarged detail;

' ar article's. Fig. 10 is a plan view, parts being broktherto, in packing twenty cigarettes en away; in a wrapper, it has generally been custom- Fig. 11 is an enlarged section on the line my to make one outside row and a center ll11 01 Fig. 10. q row of seven conrcttes each, and the other A, represents a hopper in which thevcig- 'ide row 0'? so: cigarettes, and the PELCliarettes are placed, and in :the bottom of the '-1iseqnenco is of more or less irhopper transverse vertically-disposed1par 7 n with sloping or converging titions 1 are torined between which the edges. One of th objects of the present cigarettes are received as they feed down invention is to otniite this ob ection, and by gravity from the hopper as shown in 'torni a regular package with the opposite Fig. 1. At their extreme lower ends, these, edges approximately parallel with each othpartitionsand the walls of the lower end cr, all of which is done by inalc o the center of the hopper have zigzag orherringbone row oi and the two outer rows o1 seven form, as sho n at 2, in order to position cigarettes each. The present machinery properly the three lowermost rows ofcigs been designed so asto insure this ararettes. There are seven cigarettes C in cincnt and formation of a package of each of these rows, and they take a preracter, that is to say regular and scribed staggered formation as viewed; in ately rectangular cross-sectional Fig. l with seven cigarettes in arow.

is more easily packed for ship-- The plunger 3 has the, herringbone ejecinent mil sale, and presents 1D generala tors 4t, otwlnch:thereare SIX in nu1 nloer, innch neateappearamge to the trade. or one tor, and adapted toenter, each coin- Gther oh'ects are to sinnlit the manvrtincnt containin ci arettes and thesevchinerr mthcrto in use and to provide ineans enth e ector 5 1s ,IiltltlliLt-Sd or dlvlded -1Ilt0 :Eor 'ltiltilg, selecting, arranging ano in two parts Wlth a space 6 .therebetween 1n il'act )acka 'in the ci 'arettes or other ar aosition to clear and straddle the 'uards l O O C ts ticlcs. 7 which protect and hold the center ciga- In the accompanying draw1ngs: rette C. at the right hand end of the row,

Fig. l is a view in front elevation with so that, as the plunger Ewith its ejectors the door open and looking into the teedland 5 moves iorwarcheach e ector enhopper, a portion being in sect1on;- tore the space opposite, forcing. the ciga- Fi g. is a transverse section through the rettes in its path forward endwise out ofthe ejector lingers; lower end of the hopper, with the excep- Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig 1 tion of thecentral'rig1it-hand cigarette 0',

looking in the direction of the arrow; which-is heldin place by the guards 7 at Fig. 4: is an enlarged view showing a either end, and which cigarette and guards "full complement of cigarettes for-filling and are straddled and cleared by the divided lacking after they have been carried part right-hand ejector 5. The object of this way through the machine, and before beconstruction is to insure a central row of ing forced together into a compact inass; six cigarettes, and the two Outer rows .01

Fig. 5 is a similar view after the cigaseven cigarettes, each.-

The plunger 3 with its ejectors 4 and 5 moves sufficiently far to advance the twenty cigarettes forward endwise through the con-' verging throat 8, shown in Fig. 11, to receive them, and beneath the roller 9, shown in Fig. 11, where it leaves them'in the path of the transferring plunger 10, which is on the rod 14 through a guideslot 15 into the path of the cigarettes as shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 A spiral spring 16 sleeved. upon the rod 14 normally holds these fingers 12 in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 against the end 17 of the slot 15, which acts as a stop,

and when in this position the fingers form a yielding wall against which the twenty cigarettes are sufficiently compressed to hold them in compact formation, which is fully illustrated by contrasting Figs. 4 and 5, the first of these figures, namely No. 4, showing rows in more or less loose position between the transferring plunger 10 and the fin ers 12 and Fi 5 showin their more g v g 2:

compact formation after the transferring plunger 10 has moved forward.

The collar 18 is secured on the rod 14 in position to impinge against fingers 12 at the moment the cigarettes have been sufficientlycomprcssed; and as the plunger con tinues across the machine, this relation of plunger and fingers is maintained, and continues to be maintained until the sliding head 19 is reached, which head is fashioned on its inner face, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 to conform to the position of the cigarettes.

This sliding head 19 is provided with slots 20 to provide clearance space for the retreat of the fingers 12 and the sliding head 19 is timed in its movement to receive the on-coming cigarettes againstit, while still held by the fingers, and when the latter are pushed back into the slots 20, the sliding lead is in position to hold the cigarettes in place between it and the transferring plunger 10, and as the latter is moved on across the machine both the fingers 12 and the sliding head 10 are pushed back against the action'of the springs 16 and 21.

During this movement, the fingers 12' have been held in place in the path of the cigarettes by a switch 22 pivoted on the pin 23 by means of lugs 24 on the collar 13, which lugs on being forced back beyond the end 25 of the switch immediately wthdraw or lift'out of the path of the cigarettes as shown in Fig. 7, leaving them walled in by the slidin -head 19 and the transverse p unger 10, due to the action of a spring 26 at the outer end of the stem 27 extending from the cross-head 11, one end of which spring is connected with one end of the rod 14 ready to raise the rod and the fingers the moment they are released by the lugs 24 passing be end the switch.

The sliding-head 19 is secured to one end of a rod 28, on the outer end of which an arm 29 extends downwardly in' the path of a bar 30 carried by the cross-head 11. This bar 30 is of such a length and so placed that it just reaches the arm 29 as the cigarettes reach the sliding-head 19, and by so doing force the head 19 forward as the transverse plunger 10 moves forward, in other Words maintaining the same relative position of parts, simply holding the cigarettes walled in, the cigarettes, transferringplunger and sliding-head all moving together without compressing the cigarettes.

- A pivoted catch 31 actuated by the spring 32 is in position to catch and hold the slid ing-head 19 in its extreme forward position, as when pushed aside as'shown in Fig. 7. While the cigarettes are being thus transferred across the machine, the opensided plunger 33 has moved forward into' the path of the cigarettes as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 10 in position to receive them, and by being open-sided this plunger 33 forms no obstruction to the sliding-head 19 of the cigarettes, which move transversely there through as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

The upper plate ofthe open-sided plunger 33 has a slot 34 as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 10 to afford clearance for the fingers 12, as they lift out of the way ofthe cigarettes. g

When the cigarettes have been received in the open-sided plunger 33, this plunger continues to move on forward in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 10 to the wrappers (not shown) where the package is completed.

The bar 30 has a hook 34 on the end, as shown in Fig. 1.0, which moves in the path of the inner end of the catch 31 when the cross-head 11 returns, and as this hook passes beneath the end 35 of this catch, it moves the catch away from the arm 29, thus releasing the rod 28 so the spring 21 shoves the head 19 back into the position shown in Fig. 6, ready for another complement of cigarettes. As the cross-head 11 continues back to the starting-point in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7, and as the 'rods 27 and 14 move with it, the lugs 24 on the collar'13 by striking the incline 36 above the switch 22 are forced downwardly, pushing the inner end of. the switch 22 aside against the action of the springs 37, shown in full lines in Fig. 10, and dotted lines in Fig. 9, whereupon the switch returns to its normal position as shownfin Figs. 7, 8 and 9, and the lugs are guided beneath its lower edge, holding the fingers 11in the position lugs can clear the tip end --of the switch,

when the spring 26 returns the fingers 12' to he position shown in Fig.7.

It is understood the hinged ClOOFILtlS shown in Fig. 1,'closes thefront of the hopper when the machine is in operation, and leaves only the last threerows of cigarettes exposed to, and in the path of, the ejectors l. The door is only provided in 'aseofa jam or other'stoppagewhich would seldom occur.

We claim:

1. A packagingmachine including a hoper having zigzag partitions therein,-and erringbone ejectors operating between said artitions for ejecting the articles therefrom.

Apackaging machine including a hopper with means for staggering the lowermost rows or tiers of articles therein, "and I herringbone ejectors in position to eject the articles in their path.

3. A packaging machine including a hoppar with means for staggering the lowermost rows or tiers of articles therein, and herringbone ejectors in position "to eject the articles in their patlnone ejector-divided into two parts to clear-"one of thearticles arrer which the. said articledrops to the bottom of the hopper.

l. A packaging machineincluding a hopper, means for staggering 'certain of the articles therein, and herringbone ejectors in position to eject articles from the hopper in staggered relation.

5. A packaging machine including a hopper, means for staggering certain of rthe rows of articles therein, herringbone ejectors in position to eject three rows of articles therefrom in staggered relation, and means for withholding one article from the intermediate row.

(3. in a packaging machine, the combination with a hopper, means for arranging the articles therein in staggered relation and means forejecting a plurality of rows of articles therefrom. in staggered relation, a reciprocating transferring plunger, and slidable spring-actuating fingers between which the articles are temporarily held.

7. In a packing machine, the combination with a hopper, means for arranging the articles therein in staggered relation and means for ejecting a plurality of rows of articles therefrom in staggered relation, a reciprocating transferring plunger, slidable spring-actuating fingers between which the articles are temporarily held, and a slid ing head between which and the transferring plunger the articles are finally held.

8. In a packaging machine, the combination-with a hopper, means for arranging the articles therein in staggered relation and means-for ejecting a plurality of rows of articles 'therefroin iii-staggered relation, a reciprocating transferring plunger,-'slidable spring-actuating fingers between which the articles are temporarily held, a sliding head betweenwhich and the t 'ansferring plunger the-articles are'finally held, and means for moving the fingers from the articles after being received against the sliding head.

-9. in apackaging machine, the combina tion with a hopper, means for arranging the articles therein in staggeredrelation and means for ejecting a plurality'iof rows of articles therefrom 'in staggered relation, a. reciprocating transferring plunger, slid-able spring-actuating fingers between. which: and the transferring plunger the articles are finally held, and an open-sided .plunger through which the articles are conducted laterally, and where they are left by the transferring plunger and the sliding-head.

10. In a packaging 111 I0l1l116,tl-16 combination with a hopperymeans for arranging :the'

articles therein instaggered relation and means for ejecting a pluralitycf-rows of articles therefrom 'in staggered'relatioina reciprocating transferring plunger, slidable spring-actuating fingers between which the articles aretemporarily held, a sliding head between whic'h and the transferring plunger the articles are finally held, and-means moving with the transferring plunger for mow ing 'andmaint ainingthe proper position of the sliding head.

11. In a packaging machine, the combination-with a hopper, means for arranging the articles therein in staggered relation and means for ejecting" a pluralityof rows of articles therefrom in staggered relation, areciprocating transferring plunger, slidable spring-actuating fingersbetween which the articles are temporarily held,- a sliding head between which and the transferring plunger the articles arezlinally held, means moving with the transferring plunger for moving and maintainin the proper position of the sliding head, a spring-actuated catch, and means alsomoving with the transferring head for actuating the latch at a pre determined time to release the sliding-head.

12. In a packaging machine, the combi nation of a hopper, means for staggering the articles at the bottom of the hopper, a reciprocating transferring plunger, and a slidable head, the twolatter fashioned on their inner Walls to correspond with and maintain the articles ejected from the hopper in the position given them in the hopper.

13. In a packaging machine, the combination of a hopper, means for staggering the articles at the bottom of the hopper, a reciprocating transferring plunger, a slidable head, the two latter fashioned on their inits ner walls to correspond with and maintain the articles ejected from the hopper in the position given them in the hopper, a stem moving with the plunger, a rod pivotally connected with, and moving with, the stem, fingers slidably connected With the rod in position temporarily to receive the articles to be packaged between them and the transferring plunger, a pivoted spring-actuated switch, and a spring extending, from the stem to the rod, which causes the removal of the fingers from the path of the packaged articles when the end of the switch has been reached.

'14. In a packaging machine, the combination of a hopper, means for staggering the articles at the bottom of the hopper, a reciprocating transferring plunger, a slidable head, the two latter fashioned on their inner walls to correspond with and maintain the articles ejected from the hopper in the position given them in the hopper, a stem moving with the plunger, a rod pivotally connected with, and moving with, the stem, fingers slidably connected with the rod in position temporarily to receive the articles to be packaged between them and the transferring plunger, a pivoted spring actuated switch, a spring extending from the stem to the rod. which causes the re moval of the fingers from the path of the packaged articles when the end of the switch has been reached, the inclined wall and the switch constructed and arranged to return the fingers into the path of the articles to be packaged, with the return movement of the transferring plunger. 7

15. In a packaging machine, the combination with a reciprocating transfer plunger, a stem moving therewith, a rod pivotally connected with the stem, a spring extending from the stem to the rod, springactuated fingers slidably connected with the rod, a pivoted spring-actuated switch, an incline, lugs connected with the fingers in position to move along one edge of the switch when the rod is moved in one direction, and between the incline and switch when its movement is reversed, a stop for limiting the movement of the fingers in one direction, and a collar on the rod for remov- 4 ing the fingers at a predetermined time from ejectors operating between said partitions for ejecting the articles therefrom; M l 17. In a packaging machine, the combination of a hopper, means for ejecting a plurality of articles therefrom, a transfer- ,ring plunger, slidable fingers, and a sliding head adapted to be moved into engagement with the articles, and between which and the plunger the articles are held.

18. In a packaging machine, the combination of a hopper, means for ejecting a I plurality of articles therefrom, a transferring plunger, slidable fingers, a slidinghead adapted to be moved into engagement wit-h the articles and between which and the plunger the articles are held, and means for withdrawing the fingers from engagement 7 with the articles 19. In a packaging machine, the combination of a hopper means for ejecting a plurality of articles therefrom, a transfer ring plunger, slidable fingers between which and the plunger the articles are held, a sliding head for engaging the articles, the head having slots therein to receive the fingers, and means for moving the head into engagement with the articles.

20. A packaging -machine including a hopper having zigzag partitions fixed therein so arranged as to stagger certain of the rows of articles.

21.. A packaging machine including a hopper having zigzag'partitions therein so arranged as to stagger certain of the rows of articles, and being spaced apart a sufii cient distance to receive not more than one row of articles between each two parti tions.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

EUGENE G. KERLIN. WILLIAM A. BRANDT. 

